The Nature Conservancy in Montana - Conservancy purchases the Murphy Creek Ranch

"We’re glad the Conservancy bought the ranch because we’d hate to see this land developed."
--Judy Staudenmeyer

Future plans for the ranch

The Conservancy plans to re-sell a large portion of the ranch to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for inclusion into the Red Rock Lakes Refuge. Much of the ranch lies within the original refuge boundary established by Executive Order in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Conservancy plans to retain 1,400 acres that have unique sandy formations. These sandhills are a rare habitat in Montana and home to four globally rare plant species.

County support for the project
"I think what the Conservancy is doing is positive for the Centennial. The reality is that valley has been discovered and efforts like this will help keep the Centennial looking like the Centennial."
--Garth Haugland, Beaverhead County Commissioner

Conservancy purchases the Murphy Creek Ranch in the Centennial Valley

The Staudenmeyer family of Dillon, Montana, has sold its 11,500-acre Murphy Creek Ranch in Montana’s Centennial Valley to The Nature Conservancy of Montana.

The purchase is part of an on-going effort to preserve this remote valley’s ranching history and rich wildlife habitat. So far, the Conservancy, area landowners and government agencies have used conservation easements and land acquisition to protect around 38,000 acres of private land in the valley.

The ranch borders the 45,000-acre Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge to the south. The abundant wetlands of the ranch and the refuge harbor more than 230 species of birds and waterfowl. The ranch and surrounding lands are also a haven for migratory wildlife that travel from Yellowstone Park and the Madison Valley over the Gravelly Mountains into the Centennial.

Having the land go into public ownership is a better alternative than having subdivisions in the remote Centennial, said Garth Haugland, Beaverhead County Commissioner. "If we had subdivisions out there, the cost of providing services would far outweigh any potential loss of tax revenue to the county."

The ranch has been in the Staudenmeyer family since 1935, when the late Les Staudenmeyer began purchasing properties in the area. In recent years, Les’s son Bill, his wife Judy and their family have grazed their roughly 1,100 cow-calf pairs here every summer.

The family decided to sell their Centennial Valley property order to consolidate their family ranch operation and its holdings around the Cross Ranch south of Dillon, Montana.

Natural features of the ranch
This ranch, with its stunning views of the 10,000-foot Centennial peaks, has many important conservation values: wetlands, streams, sagebrush grasslands and sandhill communities.

The Conservancy plans to retain ownership of one biologically critical piece of the ranch – 1,400 acres of the Centennial Sandhills. These unique sandy formations are a rare habitat in Montana, with only one other like it in the northeastern corner of the state.

Four rare plant species (Natural Heritage listings) -- Fendler’s cateye, painted milkvetch, white-stemmed pale evening primrose and sand wild rye -- occur here in features called "blowouts." These sandy mounds require disturbances created by wind and the hooves of grazing animals to maintain the conditions necessary for the rare plants that live there.

Conservancy stewardship staff are planning to do grazing studies and reintroduce fire into the system.as a way to maintain the health of the sandhills.

The Conservancy also is considering selling or leasing a few small outlying parcels and the associated grazing leases, along with conservation agreements, to neighboring ranchers.